Power Kite Forum

Radsail pro 5.0 - ok for a beginner?

nelsonwong - 24-7-2006 at 02:12 PM

Hi I have read a lot about beamers II and the radsail pro. Im not sure which one I should buy.

here is my basic info in a nut shell:

height and weight: 5' 7'' 130 lb

kite used for: landboarding

kite experience: beginner (but i do fly a two handle stunt kite...it looks like this ^) that should help a little.

budget: either of these are affordable, but I can only afford to buy one kite...this means I'll be flying this one kite for a looong time before I can afford a new one.

wind condition: 5-15mph

My questions:
1) can I use a radsail pro 5.0 as a beginner kite? (i can practice in low winds and gradually fly in windier condition as i get better)
2) for the wind conditions, what size kite should i be using to get a good enough pull on a ATB. Since I can't afford to many different kite sizes for different wind conditions, I'll need a good size so I can fly in most wind conditions and still get a good pull.

im leaning towards getting a radsail 5.0 just because it's bigger and it has a better lift. (i want to get into jumping) It's also less expensive than a beamer II 5.0 .
Any feedback is greatly appreciated. thanks

Pablo - 24-7-2006 at 07:37 PM

It's doable, but you may find that you have trouble holding it down in the higher end of your wind range, I usually fly a 5.5m in 15mph winds and I'm 240lbs. I'm also fairly well powered up most of the time.

Best advice, find someone locally that'll let you fly their kite and see how the pull is, If someone's around you they'll probably be more than happy to help out.

Usually someone your size would be starting out on a 3m, but then you'll be bored of it within a couple months if your looking to landboard. You'll be needing 12-15mph winds to really get rocking on a board with a 3m. No nice way around it, it's usually at least a 2 kite quiver.

I know the first gen 4m radsail pulled pretty decent for it's size, the newer ones must be better yet.

nelsonwong - 24-7-2006 at 08:36 PM

thanks a lot for your advice
ya i think it's not really recommended to fly a 5.0m as a beginners kite, but with my sad college budget (and no job) i'm looking to get one decent kite that i can get a lot of use from, without having to buy a new kite for a while. Today the winds at the beach were at an avg of 5-10 mph so a 5m kite hopefully wont be too strong and drag me along the beach. I am light but i am very atheletic too. After the kite, I'll have to start saving up for an ATB

As long as it is DO-ABLE, I think ill go for the 5.0

Pablo - 24-7-2006 at 09:54 PM

Just be careful and use common sense, I've taught quite a few stunt fliers to fly power kites, usually takes very little, more a chance for them to get used to the pull and stuff like setup in wind and reverse launching etc, proper use of the brakes.

If you head out in low wind, prolly 5mph, 10mph max you should be ok, just be prepared to have days when you're stuck flying a delta because it's too windy for what you have.

That's the main reason why people are told to start small, if you have a small kite you're ok in higher winds and you won't get hurt when the wind dies off. If you only have a large kite, you're set for lower winds, but if you take it out in high winds, the potential to hurt ones self grows incredibly.

You should have the flying skills, common sense and patience learning how to hold the power and you should be fine.

tedsfoils - 25-7-2006 at 06:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by nelsonwong
thanks a lot for your advice
ya i think it's not really recommended to fly a 5.0m as a beginners kite, but with my sad college budget (and no job) i'm looking to get one decent kite that i can get a lot of use from, without having to buy a new kite for a while. Today the winds at the beach were at an avg of 5-10 mph so a 5m kite hopefully wont be too strong and drag me along the beach. I am light but i am very atheletic too. After the kite, I'll have to start saving up for an ATB

As long as it is DO-ABLE, I think ill go for the 5.0


Do you or anyone else need a demo to try before you buy? If you would like to try the ProFoils drop me a line. Sizes go up to 5.5m